Getting Started with BNEXT

Christians and churches find themselves powerless because they suffer from Biblical illiteracy. Congregations lose their moorings and believers struggle to know what they believe – because they are not people of the Word. This overview will help you understand the problem of Biblical illiteracy and introduce the need for BNEXT Studies.

Pastors and churches across the country face significant challenges in mission and ministry in this changing culture.

Biblical illiteracy has become commonplace in the Church today. A 2005 study by the Barna Group asked Christians to rate their spiritual maturity based on activities such as service, worship, and evangelism. Respondents were most harsh in their self-appraisal of their Bible knowledge, with only 25 percent considering themselves not too mature or not mature at all. A 2004 Gallup survey found that a mere 37 percent of teenagers could find the quotation from the Sermon on the Mount when given four choices. Time magazine observed in a 2007 cover story that only half of U.S. adults were able to name one of the four Gospels.

This lack of knowledge about Scripture and its relevance for our lives today is weakening the very foundation of the church. Pastors struggle to know how to motivate their people to learn, and to come to love the Bible. Bill Hybels, pastor of 20,000 member Willow Creek Community Church, expressed his alarm at the results of a 2007 ministry effectiveness survey taken of his congregation. The survey revealed a spiritual hunger among those coming into the faith, but even more alarming, a spiritual stagnation for believers desiring to grow in their faith.

These studies demonstrate the overwhelming need for ministries that develop disciples through teaching, personal and small group Bible study, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines for each willing member of a congregation. The need for resources and tools to meet this spiritual hunger, and for spiritual nourishment of the pastors who are challenged in providing for the needs of their congregation, is clearly evident.

Professor Andrew Purvis, author of The Crucifixion of Ministry, writes about pastors and others in Christian leadership, “Many of us are professionally, spiritually and financially depressed … Excessive demands on time, conflicts within congregations and between ministers and members, loss of personal spiritual life, and loneliness, account for a deep malaise within our professional and personal lives.”

BNEXT seeks to meet the need of over-burdened ministers by providing resources that enable them to preach well-planned sermon series from the Scriptures that are directly tied to congregation-wide small group Bible discussions.

Not every church has a small groups ministry, and not every church that has a small groups ministry has a healthy one. We have tools to help churches start from scratch or start anew to refresh their small group efforts.

These simple steps can help you as you begin using BNEXT in your church:

1. Pastor explores the use of BNEXT with church leadership for the purpose of a mutual shared commitment.
2. Inventory existing small groups and invite their participation in the BNEXT study series.
3. Form a BNEXT small group leadership team to supervise recruiting and coordinating BNEXT small groups.
4. Pastor/leadership sets a goal for total number of groups and begins recruiting small group leaders for new BNEXT groups.
5. Train small group leaders using BNEXT Small Group Leaders’ Training material.
6. Announce BNEXT to entire congregation using public announcements and bulletin inserts.
7. Small group coordinating team begins recruiting for small groups and assigns them to BNEXT small groups.
8. BNEXT study handed out as a bulletin insert* or made available as people exit the service the Sunday the related sermon is preached (alternately, some churches prefer to handout the BNEXT studies the week before the related sermon is preached).

(*Even those who aren’t in small groups can benefit from using BNEXT.)

So how are the BNEXT studies arranged? Take a peek here for a surprisingly simple overview.

Each BNEXT Lesson Series features this simple outline of the study material:

1. Lesson teaching is the actual Bible study content.
2. Devotion questions are written for your personal study.
3. Discussion questions are especially for small groups; members who answer the questions ahead of time can bring more insight into their small group meeting.
4. Digging Deeper questions are for those who desire additional personal or small group study.

Download a sample BNEXT lesson: God’s Amazing Book
Download to see our entire BNEXT Catalog of Studies

BNEXT Bible studies are designed to supplement your personal and small group Bible study. We believe that sound, Biblical teaching materials should not be expensive, but accessible and affordable. So here is a basic pricing breakdown:

BNEXT Digital Studies

• BNEXT Study Series: $6.99
  [ These studies are FREE when you become an SA Subscriber ]

BNEXT Printed Studies

• BNEXT Amazing Journey Booklet: $8.99
  
• BNEXT Amazing Journey Booklet plus Video: $28.99
  
• 20-Pack of Booklets: $170.80

It’s nice to have a field manual at hand to help along the way, and we’ve provided that in the form of our Small Group Training Resources and Leader Training Manuals.

Our ministry is currently redesigning extensive resources for training small group leaders. The course includes a Student Manual, a Leader’s Manual, and corresponding PowerPoint presentations. The manuals and PowerPoints will come together as a set, and we hope to have them prepared later in 2022. Here are a couple of tools for small groups that you are free to use now:

• Small Group Ministry Basics
• Ice Breakers for Small Groups

The complete set of future training materials will also be free (a $75.00 value) which will include the following:

Small Group Training

The first session is an exploration of the Biblical Foundation of small groups. from the Old to New Testaments. Made in the image of God, we too, like the triune God, are to experience a shared unity in relationships. Participants discover small groups as a perfect place to experience that shared unity with fellow believers.

Session 1: Why Small Groups?
The first session is an exploration of the Biblical Foundation of small groups from the Old to New Testaments. Made in the image of God, we too, like the triune God, are to experience a shared unity in relationships. Participants discover small groups as a perfect place to experience that shared unity with fellow believers. Jesus called twelve disciples and taught them in a group — what better way to follow the example of Jesus than in small groups? The early church grew as small communities of believers that could meet in homes in which they experienced spiritual intimacy with the risen Lord and each other by means of the Holy Spirit. Small groups are a great place to share in the same experience of spiritual intimacy.

Session 2: Growing a Small Group
A healthy small group includes a dynamic mix of worship, fellowship Bible study and mission. Small groups move through a cycle from initial excitement to appropriate termination. Small groups that bond together find value in establishing a mutual covenant and developing a mission statement.

Session 3: Leadership Skills
A spiritually maturing small group leader guides, protects, nurtures, equips others for ministry in following the example of our Lord.  By means of careful preparation, a small group leader makes sure that a group will experience a warm hospitality, meaningful prayer/worship, stimulating Bible study and generous/caring outreach to others. The dynamics of a small group are shaped by its various personalities. A skillful leader will be cognizant of who in a group might be a visionary, mediator, spectator, clown, cynic etc.

Session 4: Getting Organized
In order for small groups to be integral (connected to a church’s leadership) strategic (connecting to the overall direction of a church) and sustainable, (not sporadic or erratic) small groups must be supported by a team of small group shepherds providing caring oversight and support.

Leader Training Manuals with PowerPoints

A spiritually maturing small group leader guides, protects, nurtures, equips others for ministry in following the example of our Lord. By means of careful preparation, a small group leader will ensure that a group experiences warm hospitality, meaningful prayer/worship, stimulating Bible study, and generous/caring outreach to others. These resources will help you train leaders to be effective in their leadership and direction of their groups. Stay tuned as we prepare to release these tools later in 2022.

We have compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions and provided answers here.

Why use BNEXT?

BNEXT is a proven system of discipleship and spiritual growth to help your church become grounded in God’s Word and built into maturity in Christ, as described in Ephesians 4:14-16:

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

How can BNEXT support the pastor’s sermon?

When used in tandem with BNEXT studies, the pastor’s sermon becomes the focal point for church member’s personal study and reflection, for small group discussion, and potentially for Sunday School instruction. All of this is made possible through the synergistic BNEXT study materials and the guidelines for their use. To learn more, download our BNEXT Catalog of Studies.

What helps do you offer for small group ministry in my church?

We are developing a training module for small group leaders, along with guidelines for establishing a small group ministry. For more information, click on the Small Group Training tab above.

How difficult is it to get started?

It is not difficult to get started with BNEXT. You should read the Getting Started section of this site, and then bring the vision to your church leadership team. It will all unfold from there.

How much does it cost?

Scripture Awakening now offers ALL of our digital content for free when you become a subscriber. We only charge for printed copies of our Bibles, studies, guides, and DVDs. Our philosophy is: “Ministry first and God will provide the money.” It is our hope that individuals and churches that benefit from BNEXT will donate to our ministry to enable us to reach more people with Biblical tools for discipleship.

What if our church wants to write its own material?

We encourage churches to write their own materials as well as to draw from our rich database. We provide guidelines for writing study guides, and offer to pay you for the materials you write, if they meet our standards and if they complement our current catalogue. Our vision is to continue expanding the catalogue so that pastors can eventually draw from every book of the Bible and from an expansive array of topics. Read our BNEXT Writers Guidelines.

Studies are designed for a pastor’s pulpit ministry to augment and compliment small groups. With this pairing, people can bring their thoughts or questions from a Sunday sermon, dig for solid answers as they study, and reflect on what they’re learning within their small group.

BNEXT Studies are available in four categories:

1. Old Testament and New Testament Series provides an overview of the books and concepts of the Old Testament in the sequential order of the Old Testament books. The NT Series provides a concise synopsis and is intended to be used taking the studies in order from the Gospels to Revelation.
2. Old Testament Book Series can be used when you want more in-depth study of Old Testament books for your group or your church.
3. New Testament Book Series is also created so your group or church can dig deeper into the books of the New Testament.
4. Topical Study Series delves into topics like the Apostle’s Creed, The Fruit of the Spirit, and Disciplines for Christian Growth.

Download to see our entire BNEXT Catalog of Studies